Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-05-26
THE PEOPLES HERITAGE.

| An Influential Religious Papers Remarks
in Support of the Democratic Land Poll
icy.
The platforms of both parties, in the
last Presidential election, declared in
nearly identical language that the pub
lie lands ought to be kept as home
steads for actual settlers; and demand
ed that unearned lands granted to rail-
road corporations should be restored
| to the public domain. These resolu-
tons were inconsistent with the policy
that has prevailed for many years in
the Land Office of the Department of
the Interior. By rulings" that are
| without warrant of law, and some
times in defiance of statute. immense
tracts of land have been withdrawn
| from settlement. In 1864 a tract forty
miles wide on each side of the road in
| the Territories and twenty miles in the
States was voted to the Northern Pa
cific railway, on condition of its COM
| pleting the road by July 4, 1876. The
time was afterwards extended to July
4, 1879, at which time only $50 miles
out of total of 1862 had been COM
| pleted At the present time 225 miles
remain to be built. To much of the
land this company now holds it has
| no legal title, because of its nom
fulfllment of contract. And yet it has
been suffered by the Land Office to
take possession, and 1000, 900 acres of
| land are withdrawn from settlement in
the Columbia River valley, in order
that the company may have them
| when it completes its track.
| 1t so happened that in 1878 one Gull
ford Miller settled in good faith on a
tract of land in Washington Territory,
which happened to be within the linn
its where the railway was entitled to
select lands. He filed his claim under
the homestead law December 90, 1884.
He has farmed his land and made GER
tain improvem ents on it, which have
materially increased its value. The
railway company, seven years after he
had settled, endeavored to GUST Miller.
He appealed to the Government, and
his appeal ultimately found its way to
the President. Mr. Cleveland in
quired carefully into the modern yer.
sion of Eaboth's vineyard, and de-
cided that the railroad was attempting,
under color of law, to take from a
worthy citizen his hard-earned prop
erty. He returns the documents to
the Secretary of the Interior, with a
letter in which he says: Il suggest
that you exercise the power and au.
thority you have in the premises upon
equitable considerations, with every
presumption and intendment in favor
of the settler, and in case you find the
corporation is entitled to select any
more of these lands than it has already
acquired, that you direct it to select in
lieu of the land upon which Mr.. Miller
has settled, other lands within the
limits of this indemnity reservation
upon which neither he nor any Other
citizen has in good faith settled Oh
made improvements
Not only does Mr.. Cleveland thus de
eide this case, by suggestion" thai
is equivalent to command. but he
condemns in the strongest terms the
former policy of the Interior Depart
ment. 1t is perfectly plain. though
the fact is not announced in so many
words, that the policy of the Govern
ment is to be radically changed. Thu
public lands are not to be hencefortf
the spoil of great corporations. but thu
heritage of the people. This has beer
the will of the people from the first
but that will has been thwarted by un
wise legislation and fagrantly unjus
official action. Let the peoples lane
be for the people, says the President
That is sound doctrine, whoever say
it, and the people have been looking
for years for some man in authorit.
who would practice what he preached
N y Examiner.